a SmOkIn HoT facelift...

 I'm not a brass lover. 

So when I look at something like this, I'm not sure what to do with it.  My parents lived in this house most of my life and my mom always wanted to give the mantel a facelift, too.  It started out a dark, drab brown...she gave it a coat of white paint...she hung pretty plates across it...and I'm sure it had all manner of looks over the years that I can't even remember.  But the bones of it stayed the same. 

I think it's time for a little more change...

I'm just not sure where to start.  It has start with eliminating the brass accents SOMEhow. 

I've thought about a coat of paint...but the heat could cause it to bubble.

And I've thought about ripping the doors off and eliminating them altogether...but that multiplies the chances of having critters flying in.

So...at this point I have no real plans...except to admit that something has to be done.

I found some other people with similar dilemas who solved them like this:

http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2009/10/some-like-it-hot/#more-2291

and this:

http://oursuburbancottage.blogspot.com/2010/01/de-brassifying-fireplace-surround.html

and this:

http://applestonecottage.blogspot.com/2009/07/fireplace-and-door-facelift-met-monday.html

I'm loving on this:

it's the cutest resin applique that I think would look great in that big blank space on the mantel.

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Fall is coming and because I've never had a fireplace in my own home before, I have a feeling this one will be burning alot this year...so this project is on the front burner...

stay tuned...

table dreams and rescued chairs...

In August I blogged here about an empty spot in my sunroom that needed a small table.  In my mind's eye I had the exact table picked out.  I don't know where I'd seen it before, but I had the scalloped edges and twisty legs all dreamed up...all that was left was to actually locate it.  So, the space remained empty and an amount of $100 was put aside that I was allowing myself to spend on it.  After many repeated trips to all my local "Thrifty spots", I finally discovered THE table...the EXACT one that was in my mind. 

Funny thing is, it was owned by a friend of mine, Vern, who hosts several large Barn Sales a year...

and apparently she had been trying to sell it for quite some time. 

{Duh, probably saw it in her barn and overlooked it at a time I wasn't looking for it!} Vern had given her a great paint finish-which was even MORE appealing to me.  Better yet, by the time I found her, she was marked down to $35 dollars! 

So here she is, in my sunroom on the day I brought her home.

Her scalloped edges were exactly as I "remembered" her....

I added a set of plank-bottom chairs I've had for about 20 years.  I've never really loved them, but I already owned them so I wasn't about to purchase more.  Unfortunately, they made the table look dingy and lifeless.

...So, they got a paint job, too...

Paired with a chandelier, I think they look alot better...although they are still awaiting a coat of glaze that will darken and age them just a bit. 

For the price of about $50 my space is filled and it works.

Another recent thrifty purchase is this chair...

she's a little shabby...but sturdy, and with a paint job I love...

So, for $5 and the addition of a chairpad I bought years ago for about $2 at Goodwill...

...it was the perfect piece to accompany this...

a little re-do...

With our recent move has come many projects.  Sometimes those projects create more projects.  I'm always trying to save a dollar, so I try to either reuse what I have or redo something I find to fit both my style and my budget.  If you recall, I've been on the hunt for a table for my family room. 

 I wrote about it here. 

The search has taken me on several trips to different Thrift shops, Second-hand stores and yard sales.  I try to go in with only this purchase in mind...but sometimes I get distracted from the goal and find another project in the making. 

Like this little beauty I found recently at Goodwill for $5.

It reminded me of a frame I fell in love with recently at IKEA.

 I stood beside it and struggled over buying it, but ended up leaving it

 there because I couldn't justify the price.  {$24.99}

I had a mirror that has sat for years in my attic because I loathed the goldish finish, so I decided both would get the same makeover and be used in separate rooms.  I've struggled to find just a couple of touches of turquois in both my family room and my half bath and these were the perfect inexpensive solution.

The frame joined an ongoing collection of mirrors...

And the mirror covered up an empty wall in the family room...

I already had the can of paint, so this project ended up costing only $5...which is my kind of makeover!

As for the table I was originally looking for...I finally found it. 

But I'll save that story for another day.

"The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash."

--Author Unknown